


ghost stories aren’t always scary

by crabcakesandtea



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dream Smp, Gen, Light Angst, Mentioned Ranboo/Tubbo, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-25 23:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30097026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabcakesandtea/pseuds/crabcakesandtea
Summary: michael wanders through the mansion in the middle of the night and ends out in ghostbur’s library
Relationships: Ghostbur & Michael
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	ghost stories aren’t always scary

michael tries his hardest to keep his bedroom door quiet, knowing full well the obnoxious squeak that the hinges produce. the hallway is dimly lit with the faint flickers of flames dancing in lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

the windows from the front end of the house allow the natural light to leak into the empty space, helping the small piglin boy watch where he’s walking as he steps carefully down the stairwell. the railing is too far up for him to grab, so, instead, he clings onto the bee plush in his arms and heads down with his hand running along the barriers.

it looks so beautiful, so enchanting that michael almost walks face first into a wall while staring intently at the unlit, shimmering chandelier dangling down towards him. he very much wants to touch it.

michael does not, however, appreciate the small spider that stares down at him from the wall with a surprisingly menacing glare. he puts his face into the bee plush to muffle his tiny pigling squeals while he tries to get away from the angry spider.

the kitchen is the next area he ends up in. he has no clue how this mansion works. is it magic? is it infinitely big and will he get lost in his new home? he has absolutely no idea, not that that stops him from walking into the next room. 

it’s wide with high ceilings, filled to the brim with bookshelves that tower over michael’s very small self. every shelf is filled with books. many are different sizes, colors, and some he can’t even tell if they’re books or not. 

his attention is captivated by a petite stand infront of him. it seems like there’s a little lever on it, so he does what any curious child would do and he begins to move it. he notices the weirdly shaped plate under it and tilts his head at it.

_what is this?_

michael sets the lever down, wanting to adjust the plush tucked into his side, and being much more than startled when ballroom-esque music starts blaring at him from it.

he screeches and hits the “lever” off of the “plate”. he will not be playing with the weird stand again anytime soon.

the loud _thud_ that echoes around scares michael again, and he squeezes his bee plush into himself for some comfort. 

“oh, dang it!” michael doesn’t know who it is, but they sound at least slightly distressed, and he peers out from behind a shelf to spy on whoever it is. 

a translucent man is hunched over, scooping up piles of fallen books as he’s frowning. his sweater is a bright yellow and his skin an almost sickly pale color. he pushes the wire brined glasses up the bridge of his nose and looks over at the hiding piglin child with curiosity.

“ranboo and tubbo told me that you would be asleep by now?”

the acknowledgment of his presence frightens him and he, almost immediately, tries to hide behind the very bottom shelf of books. he peers at the transparent man though a small hole and watches as he giggles.

“it’s okay! i’m not gonna hurt you michael. i live here in the library.” he smiles widely, his eyes crinkling behind his glasses. “i’m ghostbur!”

michael tilts his head and slowly waddles out from behind the shelves. that fear bubbling in his stomach has been replaced with the childish curiosity that he usually has. 

a look of wonder fills his eyes as he reaches out with one of his small fists to touch ghostbur, his eyes going wide with surprise when his hand goes through him.

“ghostie.. boo?” 

ghostbur smiles and laughs. “something like that.”

it seems so familiar yet so utterly foreign, the look in the child’s eyes. maybe it was one that he used to hold, too, when he was a kid. when he was alive. 

“aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

michael shakes his head defiantly. “no! i’m not sleepy.”

ghostbur nods. “i see, i see.” he throws on his best thinking face. “what if i read you a story?”

that seems to intrigue him, his head leaning to the side and his little piglin ears flopping around. “stories?”

“mhm!” 

now it’s michael’s turn to think, and his eyes scrunch into focus as he thinks about possible stories. 

“do you know wha the l’manburg is?”

ghostbur can’t quite grasp the feeling in his chest. pain? fondness? of course he knows what lmanburg is, but how does he explain to michael the rise and fall of a country that he was barely there for himself?

“well, yes. i lived in l’manburg for awhile. or i guess i made l’manburg? when i was.. alive..”

michael is clearly confused. 

“i, uhm,” ghostbur thinks for a minute, “yeah i lived in l’manburg for awhile. it was a nice place to live.”

“can i see it?”

ghostbur’s heart sinks. the look in the zombified piglin’s eyes is hopeful, curious. he wants to know about this mysterious place he’s never been allowed to go to.

if only ghostbur knew how to tell him.

“i think that’s something you should ask your parents, michael.” he smiles at him. “where’d you hear about it?”

michael beams as he bounces around on the floor in excitement. “dada! he says about it sometimes!”

oh. that makes lots of sense, tubbo used to be the president of l’manburg after all. 

“well,” ghostbur leans forward, almost as if he’s trying to tell the small boy a secret, “i didn’t live in l’manburg for very long, but i had lots of fun there.”

michael’s eyes are bright, outshining the moon sitting outside of the large stain glass window near them. 

“was it pretty there?”

ghostbur nods fondly. “it had nice sunsets and sunrises. sometimes i’d get up early to see them. niki was usually out there, too!!”

the piglin boy tilts his head curiously. “who’s niki?”

“oh she’s wonderful! she’s very nice to me. i think that you would like her. she would absolutely adore you.” 

michael’s giggling as his hands jitter through out the air infront of him. his bee plush sits on his lap.

“i would have loved to show you those sunsets.” ghostbur’s pale face is adorned with a smile softer than the sweater he wears, but it’s filled with emotions he doesn’t know. “if your parents hadn’t show you them already, of course.”

michael smiles widely, squeezing his plushie. “can you show me tha sunset some day?”

ghostbur looks down and pats his head, ruffling the small tufts of hair that twirl out in all directions. 

“sure, michael. sure.” 

the piglin boy is overjoyed, hugging his plush as his ears wiggle. “yay!”

ghostbur pulls on his happiest grimace. “you should go to bed, michael. you’re a growing boy and you need your sleep!” 

michael nods enthusiastically, scrambling up from the floor. as he’s waddling out of the library, he turns back and waves at ghostbur.

“bye bye, ghostie boo!”

he sprints out of sight, his hooves making gentle echoes run around the large room. 

ghostbur’s expression is melancholic as he gives an unseen wave back.

“bye bye, michael. sleep well.”


End file.
